Index
AARP, 106–108
Adaptation to Life (Vaillant), 75
Adler, Alfred, 14
Adriana (fictional character). See Midnight in Paris
aging, imagining, 106–108
Alexander, Lamar, 135
Alfie, 143
Allen Woody. See Midnight in Paris
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (Fulghum), 90
American dreams, 146–149
Armstrong, Louis, 137
authenticity, 13–17
avalanches, 36–37
Bach, Richard, 86
Benjamin (fictitious character). See The Graduate
Berry, Wendell, 164
betrayal by success, 150–152
Bingham, Ryan (fictional character). See Up in the Air
Blixen, Karen, 147
Bly, Robert, 131
Bolles, Richard, 151–152
Boorstin, Daniel, 118
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (Putnam), 72
Brett, George, 88
Brooks, Albert, 127–128
Byrd, Richard E., 52
calling, identifying, 94–101
carrying, reasons for, 33–35
Carter, Christine L., 141
Carter, Sarah, 130–131
cell phones, 154
Christie, Larry, 50–51
Clooney, George. See Up in the Air
commitment, fear of, 108–110
communications technology, 153–154. See also media fast
conversations, Postcard Exercises as, 23–25
The Courage to Create (May), 37
Dante, 101
Day Trips, 63–65
Dead Poets’ Society, 39
The Decline of Pleasure (Kerr), 85
Deresiewicz, William, 158
Dinesen, Isak, 147
The Discoverers (Boorstin), 118
Earth Shoes, 110–111
edges, testing, 22–23
Elgin, Duane, 149
email, 154
enlightenment, 101. See also lightening one’s load
Eriksen, Thomas, 156
eudaimonia, 21–22
experiencing experience, 165–167
explorer within, 119–120
Faux Friendship (Deresiewicz), 158
Fears, Two Deadly, 125–128
Frankl, Viktor, 143–145
freedom vs. security, 146–149
frontiers, 163–164
Fulghum, Robert, 90
getting a life, 101–102
Gil (fictional character). See Midnight in Paris
The Gods Must Be Crazy, 173
good life
Aristotle on, 20–22
authenticity and, 13–17
formula for, 17–18
Koyie on, 178–180
letting go, 18–20
Midnight in Paris, 11–13
testing edges, 22–23
The Good Life Checklist, 185–188
The Good Life Inventory, 181–184
The Graduate, 108–109
Greene, Graham, 114
Hana, journey to, 165–167
happiness. See good life
The Healing Power of Doing Good (Luks), 140
The Heart of the Matter (Greene), 114
hitchhiking anecdote, 29–31
Hoffman, Dustin. See The Graduate
“Hokey-Pokey,” 58
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 120
Honey Guides, 174–175
honor, 21
hurry sickness, 155
ideal jobs, 89–90
Illusions (Bach), 86
imagining aging, 106–108
Inez (fictional character). See Midnight in Paris
The Inferno (Dante), 101
In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise (Prochnik), 154–155
intimacy, three journeys of
Day Trips, 63–65
Lifetime Journeys, 68–72
overview, 62
Weekend Getaways, 66–68
inventory, repacking, 105–106
inventure, mid-life, 114–115
The Jerk, 32–33
journeys of intimacy. See intimacy, three journeys of
Jung, Carl, 150
Kampala (Hadza elder), 56–58
Keating, John (fictional character). See Dead Poets’ Society
Kerr, Walter, 85
Kimball, Richard “Rocky,” 164, 173–175
Koyie, Thaddeus Ole, 2–5, 178–180
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth, 133
Leider, Andrew, 120–123
Leider, Greta, 166–167
African treks
with Hadza people, 56–58, 172–175
as inventuring, 119
with Maasai people, 1–5
reflections on, 176–177
role as guide, 44
ujamaa and, 139–140
influences
John Williamson, 104
Richard Bolles, 151–152
Viktor Frankl, 144
life and activities
Alpine skiing, 36–37
caught in rain on bicycle, 170–171
journeys to Hana, 165–167
listening points, 51–52
“Mind the gap” story, 115–116
sidewalk sweeper and, 108
wake-up calls for, 38
opinions
on communications technology, 153–154
recommends film Midnight in Paris, 15
use of poem “The Way It Is,” 17–18
Leider, Sally, 135–138
letting go, 18–20
Levy, David, 156
Levy, Michael, 131
lifestyle, as term, 14
Lifetime Journeys, 68–72
lightening one’s load, 169–172
Listening Point (Olson), 50
Living the Good Life (Nearing and Nearing), 85
loss and progress, 131–132
lost, getting, 128–131, 175, 176–177
Lost in America, 127–128
love, unconditional, 70–71
Loving and Leaving the Good Life (Nearing), 47
Luks, Allan, 140
Maasai people, 3. See also Koiyie, Thad-deus Ole
Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl), 143–144
Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning (Frankl), 144
Maroba (Hadza man), 174–175
Martin, Steve. See The Jerk
Mason, Marilyn, 62
May, Rollo, 37
McCoy, Bowen H. “Buzz,” 134–135
meaning, search for, 143–146
media fast, 156–159. See also communications technology
midlife, repacking in, 112–117
“Mind the gap” story, 115–116
Mitty, Walter (fictional character), 150–151
mobile phones, 154
Mwapo (Hadza youth), 56
Nearing, Scott, 85
needs, determining, 32–33
Nichomachean Ethics (Aristotle), 21–22
noise, 154–155
“No Time to Think” (Levy), 156
Oliver, Mary, 145
Out of Africa (Dinesen), 147
Packing Principle, 31–32
“The Parable of the Sadhu” (McCoy), 134–135
Paris
David Shapiro in, 15–17
Midnight in Paris, 11–13
Patanjali, 172
Peter Principle, 31
Petersen, Dan, 45–46
Peterson, Daudi, 56, 57, 172–175
Peterson, David, 2–3
pets, 71
Philipo (Hadza elder), 57
place, sense of
Dan Petersen and, 45–47
formula for good life and, 17–18
identifying, 47–50
listening points, 50–53
need for, 43–45
pleasure, 21
positive psychology, 144
Postcard Exercises
fully unpacked relationships, 77–78
life reimagined, 102
listening points, 52–53
overview, 23–25
What Is the Good Life?, 25–26
Prochnik, George, 154–155
purpose
formula for good life and, 17–18
imagining aging, 106–108
overview, 103–105
repacking inventory, 105–106
of work, 92–94
purpose moments, 158
Putnam, Robert, 72
rebooting, 155–159
reframing, 144
reimagined life, 90–91
relationships
choosing fellow travelers, 61
defining tribe, 55–59
finding Repacking Partners, 72–75
formula for good life and, 17–18
three journeys of intimacy
Day Trips, 63–65
Lifetime Journeys, 68–72
overview, 62
Weekend Getaways, 66–68
as traveling partners, 59–60
repacking
by Andrew Leider, 120–123
by David Shapiro, 123–125
explorer within and, 119–120
fear of commitment and, 108–110
getting lost, 128–131
loss and progress, 131–132
in midlife, 112–117
non-irrevocability of, 110–111
terra incognita and, 117–119
Two Deadly Fears, 125–128
what you don’t have to do, 111–112
Repacking Groups, 189–193
Repacking Inventory, 105–106
Repacking Partners
choosing, 25
relationships and, 72–75
unpacking dialogue questions with, 40–41
Repacking Reflections, 160–162
resilience, 144
risking new ground, 39–40
Rumi, 131
Schweitzer, Albert, 164
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber), 150–151
self-disclosure, 73–78
Shapiro, David A.
childhood experiences
bullying, 61
fears, 127
lost in woods, 128–130
on communications technology, 154
life and activities
growing inventory, 105
hitchhiking as youth, 29–31
listening point of, 52
in Paris, 15–17
repacking experience, 123–125
search for sense of place, 48–50
silence, 154–155
simplicity, 149
Six Months Off: An American Family’s Australian Adventure (Alexander), 135
Skillful Means (Tulku), 84–85
social isolation, 152–155
Spinoza, Benedict de, 162–163
Stafford, William, “The Way It Is,” 17–18
success, betrayal by, 150–152
Sundqvist, Daniel, 36–37
Suzuki, D. T., 20
Tanzanian people, 139–140
terra incognita, 117–119
testing edges, 22–23
The Three Boxes of Life and How to Get Out of Them (Bolles), 152
Thurber, James, 151
time, giving yourself, 132–133
time-outs. See moratoriums
tragic optimism, 143–144
The Transparent Self (Jourard), 75
tribe, defining, 55–59
Tulku, Tarthong, 84–85
Two Deadly Fears, 125–128
Tyranny of the Moment (Eriksen), 156
ujamaa, 139–140
unconditional love, 70–71
unhappiness, 13–17
unpacking bags
determining needs, 32–33
dialogue questions, 40–41
hitchhiking anecdote, 29–31
overview, 28–29
Packing Principle, 31–32
reasons for carrying, 33–35
risking new ground, 39–40
self-disclosure as, 73–78
Up in the Air, 27–28
weight of success, 35–38
Up in the Air, 27–28
vacation from words, 159–162
value, added, 86
Voluntary Simplicity (Elgin), 149
wake-up calls, 36–38
Walden (Thoreau), 148
“The Way It Is” (Stafford), 17–18
wealth, 21
Weekend Getaways, 66–68
weight of success, 35–38
well-lived days, 138–139
What Color Is Your Parachute? (Bolles), 151
The White Hole in Time (Russell), 101
wilderness trips, 44
Williams, Robin. See Dead Poets’ Society
Williamson, John, 104
Wilson, Owen, 11. See also Midnight in Paris
Worcester, Chad, 110–111
words, vacation from, 159–162
work
choosing vs. being chosen by, 82–83
formula for good life and, 17–18
getting a life, 101–102
work (continued)
ideal jobs, 89–90
identifying calling, 94–101
identifying likes and dislikes, 84–86
overview, 79–82
purpose of, 92–94
reimagined life, 90–91
repacking as survival skill, 86–89
yoga, 69